John mcdoitgall



(No Model.)

J. McDOUGALL.

WIRE TIGHTENING DEVICE.

No. 410,557. Patented Sept; 3, 1889.

b, l x V! 11! UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN MCDOUGALL, OF EARNEST, KANSAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO IVASHINGTON \V. ALDRICH, OF SAME PLACE.

WIRE-TIGHTENING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 410,557, dated September 3, 1889.

Application filed March '7, 1889. Serial No. 302,266- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN MoDoUcALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Earnest, in the county of Rocks and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ire-Tightening Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improved wiretightening device for use in connection with the wires or cables of wire fences, gates, or bridges; and it consists of a lever of the second class capable of use for a variety of purposes in connection with the said wires or cables, more particularly, however, in its smaller form for latching a gate or holding individual wires at their ends, and in its larger form for tightening the brace-wire which supports the corner post of a field-fence or the end post of a single fence.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the best manner of carrying out my invention, and wherein the same letters of reference are applied to similar parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a single fence supported at its ends by posts, which are sus tained in vertical position through a pair of my largelevers, and showing also the open edge of a gate which is latched with one of my small levers. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of awirc-cable bridge, showing the use of my improved lever. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a portion of a fence, showing the latch-lever in a partially-operative position. Fig. & is a view similar to Fig. 3 with the gate open; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged detached view, in side elevation, of the lever proper and its supports.

The letter L designates my improved lever in its large form, and Z in its small form; G, the gate; P P the posts; E, the end posts; F, the fence-wires; 13, the braces, and O the bridge cable-wires.

My improved lever, as shown in Fig. 5, which illustrates it equally well for all sizes thereof, is pivoted at one extremity 011 the bolt 1) in an upright II, which is recessed at its upper end for that purpose. This upright may, of course, be one of the fence or bridge posts, either end or intermediate, as use may require, or it may be a stub-post, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, set deeply in the ground or rigidly sustained in a vertical position by pegs and braces. At its other end, on its upper face, the lever is provided with a notch n, which, when the lever is in operative position, is engaged byaloop O, preferablyof wire, rigidly secured at its lower end to the upright or to some immovable partof the supporting means. Intermediately between the two ends the lever is provided on its under face with a pin 1).

In operation a loop attached to the gate, if the lever is used as a latch, or a loop in the free end of the brace-wire, if the lever is used for tightening the end or bridge posts E, is passed over the notched end of the lever and carried down thereon until it strikes the pin p, after which the lever is turned on its pivot until the loop 0 can be engaged with the notch 02, when the wire to be tightened will rest upon the bolt I) at either side of the lever and be retained behind the pin 1).

In using my lever for a gate-latch, as above mentioned, (see Figs. 3 and i more particularly,) the gate G is provided with a vertical bar g at its free edge.

In rough prairie-fencing, where economy is much to be desired, it is customary to construct long lines of fencing simply of posts with barbed or other wires stretched thereon at considerable tension, and when a gate is to be built or formed in such rough fences hinges are not ordinarily used. The fencewires F are simply rigidly attached to the post I next the open edge of the gate and then cut off, while they are similarly attached to the post P and then led across the gateopening and fastened to the bar 9. WVhen it is desired to open the gate, which is seldom, the wires are bent bodily near the post P IIeretofore much diificulty was experienced in providing a suitable latch for holding the bar g in detachable connection with the post P, because the great tension upon the fencewires F would destroy almost any latch and render it useless in a short time, or else this tension would detract from the facility with which the gate might be latched and unlatched. In the use of my improved leverlatch for this purpose a supplementary loop 8 is attached to the post P below the lowermost fence-wire F and an ordinary loop 6 attached to the upper end of the bar g.

In locking the gate afterithas been opened, the bar 9 is forcibly drawn toward the post 1 against the tension of the wires F until its lower end, where the said tension is the least, owing to its greater resistance by the posts all along the line, may be inserted within the supplementary loop 3. The upper end of the bar 9 is then forcibly drawn toward the upper end of the post P and its loop 6 passed over the lever Z, after which the latter is turned upon its pivot until the locking-loop 0 engages the notch 02, as above described, when the gate will be latched. In unlocking the gate this operation is reversed. It will thus be seen that a lever action is employed midway of the length of the fence for overcoming the tension of the fence-wires to a certain extent, and that when the gate is closed and latched the longitudinal tension of the whole fence will be maintained and slacking of the wires thereof entirely prevented.

My improved lever L, as shown at each side of Fig. 1, is considerably larger and stronger than that lettered Z, above described. The tension above mentioned, which exists to a great degree throughout the entire length of the fence, will tend in time to draw the end posts inwardly from their vertical position.

I-Ieretofore such posts have been braced by anroblique beam set into the ground at its lower end or against a peg at that point, rising thence upwardly and outwardly, and its upper end abutting against or seated within a notch in the inner edge of the post. This device, however, possesses the well-known objection that if a great and sudden strain be exerted on the fence-wires by cattle or by other means the wires will draw the top of the post inwardly, turn it with the brace-beam bodily around the peg, and draw the post from the ground, especially if the latter be a sandy soil or if it be muddy. In the present instance a beam L is set in the ground in line with the line of the fence, and certain crossbeams are preferably mortised into it, so as also to lie .flush with the ground. From the beam L two uprights U rise vertically, and oblique braces U sustain these uprights in that position. To the beam L, near its rear end, is secured the loop 0, and between the upper end of the uprights is pivoted a large lever L. The operation of this lever is pre cisely the same as that described above, except that in this instance a strong brace B, of heavy wire or cable, is used in the place of the tightening-loop e at the top of the bar g. The uprights U are preferably about half the height of an ordinary fence-post, and the brace-wire B will. therefore be led obliquely from the lever L and secured near the upper end of the end post E. It will be understood that when a simple line of fencing is to be constructed these braces will be placed in alignment therewith, as above described; but where an angle in the fence is to be turned the user will readily perceive that the bracewire and lever must lead from the corner-post outwardly in a direction to continue a line that if extended through the post would bisect the angle formed by the corner of the field.

It frequently occurs in new or wild countries during the process of building roads, or where the settler is clearing a field of its timber or constructing a path, that streams of water too small under ordinary circumstances to be dignified by a better title than a brook are discovered which, if across a road, may be readily forded. Such streams, however, when their waters are swollen by recent rains or melting snow or ice, are dangerous in the fording, and at all times must usually, when they lie across a path, be crossed by the pedestrian on a fallen tree or piece of timber. In the use of my invention under these circumstances, as illustrated in Fig. 2, I am enabled to construct cheap, light, and easily and quickly made bridges across such streams, which may be made strong enough to support teams, if desired, but are designed more particularly for pedestrians.

Upon each bank of the stream, and high enough thereon to be above high-water mark, I build an abutment A-preferably of a single large stoneor a number of them, according to the width of bridge desired. Back of these abutments I seat long posts E deeply into the ground, bracing them, if desired, near their lower ends, and from the upper ends of these posts brace-wires B are led backward for a considerable distance to levers L, as above described. At two points in each post-one on about a line with the upper face of the abutments and the other about three feet above-I pivot small levers Z, constructed as above described, and looped wires extend upwardly from the posts E or the braces thereof to hold the free ends of the lever Z.

The bridge proper is made of four pieces of cable-wire C. At each side of the bridge one of these pieces is formed into a loop and the ends of the loop slipped over each lower lever Z, the other piece being slipped in a-similar manner over the two upper levers Z. The eightlevers Z are then drawn tight and fastened. Upright pickets or inclined bracesare secured at several points throughout the span of the cable-wires from the upper thereof to the lower, thus forming the sides or railings of the bridge. Short staves or beams are then laid transversely across'the bridge, their ends resting on and secured to the two lowercables O, and, if desired, planks or boards -may be laid longitudinally on the bridge upon these staves. A bridge when thus constructed would bear considerable weight, because the lower cables are connected with the posts so near the points where the latter enter the ground; but when the brace-wires B are attached to the upper ends of the posts, led backward and downward, and connected With large levers L, and when a strong force is applied from both ends of the bridge, the cables will be drawn to such tension and so firmly held and secured at that tension that the bridge will be an extremely durable one and much stronger comparatively than a great many others involving the same amount of expense and labor in their construction.

hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is 1. In a wire-tightener, the combination,with a supportirig-upright, of a lever pivoted to said upright, said lever provided at a point near its free end and upon its upper face with v a notch and at a point near its pivot-point 20 and on its under face with a pin, and a loop adapted to engage the notch, as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In awire-tightener, the combination,with an upright, of a lever Z, pivoted thereto, said lever provided on its upper face and at its free end with a notch n and on its under face near its pivot-point with a pin p, a loop 0, arranged to engage notch 02, and a loop e, ar ranged to engage pin 19, as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

J OIIN MCDOUGALL.

Witnesses:

PETER MoNULTY, JOHN R. COLEMAN. 

